For 110 years, Boeing and the state of Washington have helped define one another. The airplanes Boeing employees design and build in Washington have connected the world, created hundreds of thousands of careers, fueled innovation across industries and supported communities throughout Washington. Few places in the country have an aerospace and space workforce as strong as Puget Sound’s. From engineers and mechanics to space-industry innovators, these workers make the industry a pillar of our regional economy.
When manufacturers succeed here, the benefits extend well beyond factories and offices. The work sustains local machine shops and parts makers, engineering and technology firms, logistics companies, and other small and midsized businesses. It also generates critical tax revenue and family-wage jobs that strengthen our communities.
Boeing employees and the surrounding communities celebrated the grand opening of the new 737 North Line in Everett on July 10. The new line represents a $1 billion investment in Washington. Certification of Boeing’s 737-7 this month by the Federal Aviation Administration is another good sign and shows the company is closer to recovery after several very difficult years. There is true energy around the region.
And that’s why I was so encouraged that Boeing and its engineering union, the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, reached a tentative agreement well ahead of the Oct. 6 contract deadline and are now voting on the offer.
This promising future matters to Boeing, its 65,000 Washington employees, and everyone who calls this state home.
Washington is a uniquely important hub in Boeing’s supply chain. In 2025, Boeing paid more than $4 billion to more than 1,000 Washington suppliers, many of them small and midsized companies that provide parts, technology, logistics and specialized services, and more than $1 billion to other small businesses.
As Boeing expands 737 production, rebuilds customer and public confidence and advances toward 737-10 certification, it is helping strengthen Washington’s economy. With a record backlog of 6,200 airplanes and strong long-term global demand, the world is looking to Washington for the future of flight.
But behind every facility opening, certification milestone and airplane delivery is the true heartbeat of this company: its people.
More than 10,000 Boeing engineers in Washington turn ideas into safe, advanced airplanes. Their work often happens out of public view. They validate designs, improve manufacturing processes, resolve production issues and apply lessons learned, all while meeting uncompromising standards for safety, reliability and performance.
That workforce does not exist by accident. Washington has spent decades building one of the world’s deepest aerospace talent pools through its high schools, colleges and universities. But competition for that talent is growing. Keeping exceptional engineers here requires competitive compensation, strong benefits and meaningful opportunities to build their careers.
Boeing’s recovery and its engineer workforce are inseparable. Engineers work alongside mechanics, technicians, inspectors and other members of the Boeing team to improve production and deliver safety for customers.
Innovation follows talent, and economic growth follows innovation.
The depth of talent is what makes our aerospace economy so strong. Washington’s aerospace advantage reaches far beyond any one company, but Boeing remains its cornerstone, anchoring one of the world’s largest commercial-aircraft manufacturing centers. The engineering talent, advanced manufacturing skills, supplier network and research capacity that Boeing helps sustain also power its growing commercial space cluster. More than half of the operational satellites in orbit were built in Greater Seattle.
That is why this fall, we will take the next step to strengthen the region’s economic future.
Business, government and community leaders will announce the Partnership for a Competitive Puget Sound, a new public-private partnership focused on ensuring our region remains one of the most competitive places in the country to live, work and do business. This effort will help ensure that Boeing and the network of smaller businesses in its supply chain can continue to grow here, while creating the conditions for businesses across our region to do the same. Working together, we can support a business climate that addresses affordability, particularly the cost of housing for employees, and a tax and regulatory environment that encourages investment and job creation.
Boeing will be an essential partner in this effort. By strengthening these fundamentals, we can ensure Puget Sound and Washington remain a place where companies invest, workers build careers and aerospace innovation continues to grow.
